Geoff Hanham (left) and Henry Norcross (right) with Northland Regional Council kiwi handler Pete Graham before safely releasing kiwi chick Gerry. Photo / Malcolm Pullman
Geoff Hanham (left) and Henry Norcross (right) with Northland Regional Council kiwi handler Pete Graham before safely releasing kiwi chick Gerry. Photo / Malcolm Pullman
A tiny kiwi suffering heatstroke was saved by two friends during a team rescue mission along the Tutukākā coast in Northland.
When Geoff Hanham and Henry Norcross went for a walk to Sandy Bay on Tuesday, they never expected to arrive back at Matapouri with a tiny dehydrated kiwi wrapped in one of their T-shirts.
The little North Island brown kiwi was baking in the sun on the tar-sealed road above the south end of Woolleys Bay when the friends came across it.
“It was incredible,” Hanham said.
“It was just on the side of the road looking up at us.
“It was 11.30 and we were thinking kiwi should be in bed asleep. I think it was affected by the heat.”
Catching the kiwi was trickier than anticipated, however, as it was still sprightly enough to scurry off into a pampas bush perched on a cliff edge just outside a safety railing.
Gerry the kiwi was saved by two Northland mates out for a walk. Photo / Malcolm Pullman
With Hanham holding the railing in one hand and grasping his mate’s belt with the other, Norcross was able to lean out just far enough to snatch the bird, which they named Gerry, from the pampas bush.
They then took the chick to Tawapou Native Plant Nursery, just outside Matapouri Bay, where they knew kiwi release events had been held.
From there, with some guidance from Tutukākā Landcare Coalition volunteers, Gerry was delivered to Robert Webb at the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre.
Webb estimated the 250g bird was about 3 weeks old and suffering severe dehydration.
A couple of days later, Northland Regional Council biodiversity officer and experienced kiwi handler Pete Graham delivered the youngster back to Tawapou for release into an area of QEII covenanted bush that is under intensive predator control.
He said time had been ticking for the little kiwi.
“Another half hour in the sun could have been fatal.
“The quick actions of the impromptu bird rescuers definitely saved it.”
Hanham and Norcross were on hand to see Gerry released on Thursday.
Tutukākā Landcare spokesman Mike Camm said that, while the episode was a bit touch and go for the young kiwi, it was also encouraging.
“It shows that our landscape-scale predator control work in the Tutukākā Coast hinterland is allowing wild kiwi populations to re-establish.”
